| 1900–01 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Dr. Ernest Stancomb | |
| Secretary | Er Arnfield | |
| Stadium | The Dell | |
| Southern League | Champions | |
| FA Cup | Round 1 | |
| Top goalscorer | League:Edgar Chadwick (14) All:Edgar Chadwick (15) | |
| Highest home attendance | 12,000 vsEverton (9 February 1901) (FA Cup) | |
The1900–01 season was the 16th since the foundation ofSouthampton F.C. and their seventh in league football, as members of theSouthern League.
The club were unable to repeat their success in the FA Cup and were eliminated in the First Round, but compensated for this failure by claiming the Southern League title for the fourth time in five seasons.
The run to the FA Cup Final in1900 had generated a surplus of £31 but the club were still £1,000 in debt.[1] In July 1900, the company made acall on itsshares in an effort to raise cash. The response to the call was disappointing with many shareholders having their sharesforfeited as a result of their failure to pay the balance due.[2]
The financial situation worsened in 1900–01, with the gates dwindling following the doubling of the entrance fees the previous year from sixpence to a shilling, and the club generated a loss of £740.[3]
After the disappointing end tothe previous season and the embarrassing failure in theFA Cup Final, there was a "drastic" clear-out of players. Both the players at the centre of the dispute surrounding the team selection for the final,Roddy McLeod andJack Farrell were released, as were defendersMeechan,Durber andPetrie.[4] Another significant departure wasAlfred McMinn who resigned as a director;[2] McMinn had made a major contribution to the club's success, particularly with his ability to spot a good player, leading the "Stoke Invasion" inthe summer of 1895.[5][6]
The new recruits included three players fromEverton, full-backsGeorge Molyneux andBertram Sharp and centre-forwardWilf Toman[3] as well as former Everton and England forwardEdgar Chadwick, who would renew his partnership withAlf Milward which had been described as "the best in the league" during their time together at Everton.[3] From local football, the club recruited two players who were to play a major role in the future of the club:Bert Lee would have two long periods with the club as a player before becoming a trainer from 1914 to 1935.[7]Fred Harrison would remain atThe Dell for seven years and become the club's main goalscorer, with 88 goals from 166 appearances.[8]
In view of the club's financial difficulties, the board also decided to recruit top amateur players. The first to join the club wasLeslie Gay, who had made three appearances as goalkeeper forEngland in 1893 and 1894, although Gay never played in a first-team match for Southampton.[2] Another amateur goalkeeper, the South AfricanWilf Waller also joined the club on a part-time basis and played in the opening match of the season whenJack Robinson was suspended.[9] In December,C. B. Fry (described as "arguably the greatest all-round sportsman of his generation") did play for the club, making his debut at right-back in theBoxing Day match againstTottenham Hotspur.[2] In January, the club made an offer to anotherCorinthian player,G. O. Smith, who had been the England captain and was widely considered as the world's best player of the 19th Century.[10] The approach was unsuccessful, with Smith responding that he "thought it impossible to assist our club in cup ties [but] wishing us every success."[2]
The Saints started their attempt to regain the Southern League trophy with a 4–3 win atLuton Town followed by a defeat atWest Ham United and a goalless draw atPortsmouth.[11] Portsmouth were top of the table having won their opening three matches and the local newspaper claimed that, while Southampton were "under a cloud", "the Portsmouth star is shining conspicuously in the footballing firmament". A crowd of between 10,000 and 12,000 saw the clubs play a "clinking ding-dong, robust game" which Portsmouth looked most likely to win.[12]
After this stuttering start to the season, the Saints settled down with a run of 12 victories in the next 13 matches. The final three months of the season were more erratic with three defeats in the final two months of the season, but the Saints had done enough to hang on at the top of the table, to claim the Southern League title for the fourth time.[13]
The second meeting with local rivals, Portsmouth, came onEaster Saturday, 6 April. With three matches left to play, Southampton led the table but Portsmouth had a game in hand and could still overhaul the Saints, although their away form was poor. With Portsmouth having several players out injured, Saints took the lead after ten minutes when Milward was fouled;Lee's "beautifully placed" free kick was "piloted" into the goal by Milward. Milward scored again late in the second half fromEdgar Chadwick's pass.[14]
There was a marked difference between the results atThe Dell and away. Of the 14 home matches, all resulted in wins other than the final home match of the season, a goalless draw withReading. Away from home, the Saints won only five matches, with four draws and five defeats.[11]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 26 | 2.231 | 41 | |
| 2 | Bristol City | 28 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 54 | 27 | 2.000 | 39 | Elected to theFootball League Second Division |
| 3 | Portsmouth | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 56 | 32 | 1.750 | 38 | |
| 4 | Millwall Athletic | 28 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 32 | 1.719 | 36 | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 55 | 33 | 1.667 | 36 |
The draw for theFirst Round of the FA Cup produced a repeat of the same stage from the previous season, a home match againstEverton of theFootball League First Division. The match was scheduled to be held on 26 January, but all football was postponed following the death ofQueen Victoria on 22 January.[3] The match was played a fortnight later on 9 February, by which timeHarry Wood andArthur Chadwick were both injured and unable to play. Chadwick's place was taken byTed Killean making his debut for Southampton.[15]
Saints struggled to reproduce their league form, althoughEdgar Chadwick gave them a half-time lead. Everton overran the Saints in the second half, with goals fromJimmy Settle,Jack Taylor andJoe Turner,[16] who had left Southampton in 1898 (but would return in 1901).[17]
Fellow Southern League side,Tottenham Hotspur reached theCup Final thus becoming the second Southern League side to do so, after Southampton in the previous year. Spurs were also the first London-based club to reach the final since1880.[18] Tottenham went one better than Southampton by defeatingSheffield United 3–1 in a replay atBolton WanderersBurnden Park ground; the attendance for the first match atCrystal Palace was officially 110,820, which was the largest FA Cup Final crowd to that date, and only exceeded by the1913 and1923 finals, whereas the attendance for the replay was only 20,470.[19]
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 February 1901 | Round 1 | Everton | H | 1–3 | E. Chadwick | 12,000 |
On 9 March 1901,England played theirHome Championship match againstIreland atThe Dell. As Ireland had been beaten 11–0 byScotland a fortnight earlier, the England selectors chose a mainly second-string team with five players making their full England debuts, includingC. B. Fry (listed as aCorinthian player) and two otherSouthern League players,Millwall'sBert Banks andBilly Jones ofBristol City. The other debutantes wereLiverpool'sJack Cox andGeorge Hedley fromSheffield United – of the debutantes, only Cox would play another match for England. The other Southampton players selected wereArchie Turner, making his second (and final) international appearance, andJack Robinson, who was now the established England goalkeeper. The line-up was completed byTip Foster andWilliam Oakley (bothCorinthians), earning their 2nd and 14th caps respectively,Tommy Crawshaw (Sheffield Wednesday), earning his 8th cap, andErnest Needham (Sheffield United), earning his 13th cap.[20]
The match was played at The Dell in front of a modest crowd of 8,000[20] who had expected a "landslide" victory, especially as the Irish players had experienced bad weather on their ferry crossing.[21] Although England scored after only nine minutes through Crawshaw, the expected landslide did not materialise and it was not until the final ten minutes that Foster added two further goals.[20] Archie Turner left the pitch with an injury after 20 minutes and England played the remainder of the game with only ten men.[2] C. B. Fry later said of the match: "It was a very bad match. It was one of those games which, without any obvious reason, are aimless and vague and watery ... It was one of the least enjoyable games from a players' point of view that have ever fallen to my lot."[21]
This was the only full international played at The Dell.[22] None of the Southampton players played for England again after this match.[20]
In April 1901, the Saints embarked on their first-ever tour of Europe visiting The Netherlands, Austria and Hungary.[3][23] All seven matches were won, with a total of 50 goals scored and 3 conceded; the largest score was in the final match, against a Hungarian Combined XI, which was won 13–0.[24]
In one of the matches in Vienna, goalkeeper Jack Robinson gave a goalkeeping exhibition in which he produced several diving saves. His saves from low shots, "by flying through the air with great ease", became known in Austria and Hungary as a "Robinsonade", a name which was used until the 1950s.[25][26][27]
| Position | Nationality | Name | League apps | League goals | FA Cup apps | FA Cup goals | Total apps | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB |  England | Arthur Blackburn | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| FW | England | Sid Cavendish | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | England | Arthur Chadwick | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| FW | England | Edgar Chadwick | 27 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 15 |
| HB | England | Joe French | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FB | England | C. B. Fry | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| GK | England | Leslie Gay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | England | Fred Harrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | England | Ted Killean | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | England | Bert Lee | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| HB |  Scotland | Samuel Meston | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| FW | England | Alf Milward | 28 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 12 |
| GK | England | Harry Moger | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FB | England | George Molyneux | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| HB | England | Bert Paddington | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| GK | England | Jack Robinson | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| FB | England | Bertram Sharp | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| FW | England | Henry Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HB | England | Victor Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | England | Henry Smoker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | England | Wilf Toman | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 7 |
| FB | England | Walter Triggs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | England | Archie Turner | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 7 |
| GK |  South Africa | Wilf Waller | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | England | Harry Wood | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 10 |
| FW | England | Jimmy Yates | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| Date | Position | Name | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1900 | FB | Arthur Blackburn | Blackburn Rovers[28] |
| August 1900 | FW | Edgar Chadwick | Burnley[29] |
| December 1900 | FB | C. B. Fry | Corinthiana[30] |
| Summer 1900 | GK | Leslie Gay | Corinthiana[2] |
| September 1900 | FW | Fred Harrison | Bitterne Guild[8] |
| Summer 1900 | HB | Ted Killean | Glossop[15] |
| April 1900 | HB | Bert Lee | Poole[7] |
| Summer 1900 | GK | Harry Moger | Freemantle[31] |
| May 1900 | FB | George Molyneux | Everton[32] |
| May 1900 | FB | Bertram Sharp | Everton[33] |
| Summer 1900 | FW | Henry Small | Freemantle[34] |
| Summer 1900 | FW | Henry Smoker | Local football[35] |
| Summer 1900 | FW | Wilf Toman | Everton[36] |
| Summer 1900 | FB | Walter Triggs | Freemantle[37] |
| September 1900 | GK | Wilf Waller | Bolton Wanderersb[9] |
| Date | Position | Name | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 1900 | FB | Peter Durber | Stoke[38] |
| Summer 1900 | HB | Frank Englefield | Freemantle[39] |
| June 1900 | FW | Jack Farrell | New Brighton Tower[40] |
| Summer 1900 | FB | Ernest Gill | Freemantle[41] |
| Summer 1900 | HB | Don Greenlees | St Mirren[42] |
| Summer 1900 | FB | Harry Haynes | Retired[43] |
| May 1900 | GK | John Joyce | Millwall Athletic[44] |
| Summer 1900 | FW | Watty Keay | Retired[45] |
| May 1900 | FW | Duncan McLean | Derby County[46] |
| August 1900 | FW | Roddy McLeod | Brentford[47] |
| September 1900 | FB | Peter Meechan | Manchester City[48] |
| October 1900 | HB | Bob Petrie | New Brighton Tower[49] |
